Queen Bee Knits

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The Most Wonderful Time … ?

Posted on December 15, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

We woke up to ice skimming the lake this morning. It was a cool 16 degrees on the thermometer but my weather app said it was 12 degrees. Either way, it was cold. I look forward to the ice at this time of year. It’s like my lakeside neighbor said, “it’s another phase of life”.

I’ve been super busy again this week. I’m not sure if it’s the time of year or if it’s simply my life but I’ve been trying to finish up the shopping for Christmas and we sent our our Christmas cards, I had a Maine Arts Academy school board meeting – it ended up being virtual because of the crazy weather – and have had some “issues” to deal with surrounding being board chair and we’re looking at meeting dates/times, trying not to have a quorum at committee meetings to follow the rules, attending a board goals setting training, and there was some work and “normal” life stuff to do at home. Thank goodness my husband doesn’t mind (much) doing the cooking. Add the full moon into the mixture and my sleep has been wonky as all get out! I’m sleep deprived, overloaded at work (we had a roof leak this week in the afore mentioned crazy weather) and yesterday was my Saturday to work.

On Thursday I arrived at work to find this mess (above). The heavy rain and wind had caused the roof to leak (I think) and the spot in the front corner of the store that had leaked before had been totally soaked and one of the tiles had fallen to the floor but not before hitting the bookshelves below it. And the toys we have for our little visitors. And the books in the shelves, the free patterns, etc. I cleaned it up but being there solo doesn’t mean I could do much more than a basic clean-up. Yesterday I worked with my friend and colleague, Carol, and we got to dismantle everything around the leak and make sure there was no further damage. We had the “class” table covered with books, etc. and moved everything around so that area was free of merchandise until the roof is repaired. It took us the whole day to get it all off the table but the front of the store looks great. AND we were both pooped – the store was busy yesterday, too!

I have gotten to do some knitting this week. I finished my pink Lane’s Island sweater by Lori Versaci. I made this sweater in a slightly off-white colorway and I love it so much that I wanted to make another. Part of what I love is the Berroco Remix Light yarn that I used. The weight is perfect for a woman of a certain age who is usually warm and I loved the sweater design from the time I saw in (in horizontal stripes) on the front page of the Berroco pattern collection book at the shop. I made mine in solid colors, my new one is a size smaller than the first and I like them both. I wore the pink one on Friday without even properly trimming the ends after they were woven in. And it still needs a QBK label!

I’ve been working on finishing the pair of shortie socks in King Cole Footsie for my granddaughter’s favorite aunt so they’ll be sock twins. I’m hoping to finish the second sock today. Fingers crossed.

I cast on a new project (surprised?!) using some Cascade 128 in my stash that has been taunting me. I am knitting a pullover for my granddaughter in a larger size for a future year. Maybe. I got the knitting to the arm separation and didn’t like the fabric with the needles that were called for in the pattern. SO … I frogged what I’d gotten done and went down to a US9 needle and started over. I like the new fabric much better but the size will not be a 4-5, it’ll be a 2-3, I’m guessing which means she can wear it this year and/or next. I also found a hood pattern that I really want to make for her with “fur” around the face. Maybe she’ll put it on and keep it on? I also have a miscellaneous purl bump in the center front of the sweater (who knows why, but it’s not going to last forever and I can cover it with a bit of embroidery). It’s a quick project and the hood will be too.

I want to knit a larger pair of mittens for my great-nephew in Salem, MA. He loves the ones I made him last year (and they have to be a bit too small) so I bought more of the same yarn at the shop and will make a bigger pair with an i-cord string that can go in his jacket sleeves so they don’t get lost. I also have some stashed Raggi sock yarn that is wanting to be knitted up and will be work socks for my hubby. He works outside all year long and he loves his wool socks. He has quite a collection but can always use more. This is a grey/white marled yarn and I think they’ll have blue cuffs, heels and toes. He is likely to get a ball of yarn in his stocking because I don’t think they’ll be done before that time.

I found a lobster tam, design by Mrs. Knitter, in my cabinet. It’s already in progress and I pulled it out because it’s so close to being finished and the kit has to have been in my ownership for at minimum eight years. I bought it at Over the Rainbow Yarns in Rockland, ME and they went out of business in late 2017. I’ll be working on finishing that this week.

AND I will be winding up some yarn to cast on a new sweater … or vest. There was a pattern release for a DK weight vest this weekend and I really like my vests. BUT I bought enough yarn for another colorwork pullover in two shades of purple wool from the clearance section of the shop and I may cast on. If I can get the yoke finished before Christmas, it will be good mindless knitting over the holiday. I’ve also been dreaming of an Alpine Bloom hat for which I’ve purchased my favorite yarn in a light gray and a deep charcoal gray … Not sure which will end up coming first. There is also a gnome KAL happening that I’d like to join and I’ve got the yarn to make a few knitted animals for Sylvie … if I can part with them. So many patterns and so little time. I’ll be taking off a week or so between Christmas and the New Year so maybe I can indulge myself with some selfish knitting after I get gifts wrapped and ready to give.

Gone knitting.

Grateful Every Day!

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

It started out to be another gray morning here on the lake but then the sun came out! Yay!!! I’ve been struggling with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which is like depression and it’s been a rough week or two. I’m fighting to get stuff done in advance of the holidays and around the house … falling behind leads to a nightmare and I’m happy that I’ve been mostly keeping up. Anywho … the reason for this post is to share our wonderful Thanksgiving with our family in Massachusetts and that’s what I am going to focus on.

As always, we had a ball with the family. My brothers and their wonderful wives, nieces, nephews, son and his fiancee, and my sister-in-love’s brother and his girlfriend, two of her children and his daughters, too. Add three little kiddos and five dogs and you’ve got our evening! There had to have been 25 of us! And for the second or third year, there was a polar plunge involved. “We” (not me and not my hubby) jumped off the commercial dock in Marblehead and everyone survived. We guessed the water in the harbor was in the 50 degree range, but that’s a guess. It was cold for sure. My brother, two of his sons, my son and his fiancee all jumped in. I’m in awe!

We had a lobster feast for Thanksgiving because it can be cooked outside and the menu was incredible: shrimp cocktail, clam chowder (from the Causeway Restaurant in Gloucester, MA .. the best we have ever had), steamed clams, lobster, and salmon, a salad and grilled ciabatta. John B. brought the traditional Marblehead Thanksgiving desserts – cannoli and ricotta pie from an Italian bakery in Lynn. If anybody didn’t have fun, it’s their fault! I’m so grateful to have an extended family that I love spending time with and my hubby said yesterday, “I had a good time at Thanksgiving!” That says a lot. There’s never enough time when we’re all together and that, too, says a lot. How incredibly lucky we are.

The second night we had a pulled pork taco night. We brought our “insta-pot” down with us and went out to gather ingredients on Black Friday. And then on Saturday we had a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings. I came home with an extra 5 pounds. LOL.

And what would a beautiful turkey dinner be without some turkey stock cooked right after the clean-up? The kids filled two “handles” with stock to carry back to New York City and I thought the idea to package it in the empty liquor bottles was brilliant and a bit funny.

On the way home, DH and I stopped for lunch with a friend from summer camp way back in the dark ages and then we stopped at Costco … spending time until we could pick up the dog at the kennel at 6pm. It was a nice, easy, no traffic ride home.

AND!!! I’m so happy to report that I finished a pair of socks for my darling sister-in-love in Massachusetts. She’s very knit-worthy and I’ve never made her a pair of socks so I had some Christmassy Raggi sock yarn in my stash that needs to be knitted up and I made her a pair of socks. I loved the way the yarn did its self-striping thing and the socks will keep Annie warm this winter inside her 200+ year-old house.

I also finished Sylvie’s Christmas sweater and sent it and her Advent calendar that I made on to New York City. I love the sparkly buttons and I am really fond of the sweater pattern (although the button plackets were a bit weird!) I hope it’ll fit her.

Snowflake by Tin Can Knits in Berroco Vintage DK

While we were away, I was given two more knitting for Christmas assignments and went in to Marblehead Knits for some yarn. One color had to match ST’s “signature” nail polish color and will be his running mitts. I’ll probably make a headband, too, but it may be after Christmas so I can measure his head. I also am replacing a hat for BS that he (mistakenly) washed with his laundry and felted. One more chance, B! LOL. Both of those projects will be easy to complete before the holidays but today is going to be for seaming my Lane’s Island pullover. I’d love to get it together before Christmas so I can wear it. It’s the perfect weight for being inside with a shirt and light sweater. I’ve got my first Lane’s Island on today, in fact.

I’ve finished a little pair of watermelon socks for Sylvie’s Advent calendar and I’m working on a pair of shortie socks for her mom or me … and the Octopus hat from hell has been sent and is much loved despite its horrible history. I’ve written about it on the last post. And I’ve now felted superwash yarn. And they say it can’t be done. Ha!

On my needles … all stuff that I have to really think about (except for the pair of shortie watermelon socks) so I have made precious little progress. I’ve got to finish the Arne & Carlos MKAL stocking and may get to it this weekend. I’ve got to make a bit of progress on the Fair Isle bag “swatch” for my Fair Isle knitting class, too. I’ve got a few rounds in and then stopped. I did very little knitting while we were away. I’d still like to make a pair of socks for my DH for his Christmas stocking. I have to get him a gift, too. Have I ever mentioned that I don’t love Christmas? It feels like tremendous pressure just thinking about it. We won’t put up a big tree (we have a little pre-lighted fake tree) but I’m going to get my Advent mini-jumpers hung this year. I really want to see them hanging!

I need to get off the computer and get some “work” done so I can knit. I have minutes from a meeting to upload and the laundry needs to be moved from the washer to the dryer but I wanted to reflect on how very grateful I am … even still today … after our Thanksgiving visit with family. We have remarked that we never seem to have enough time together and that, in itself, is such a blessing. I hear so many people who don’t want to have to spend time with their family and we can’t wait to have more time together!

Gone knitting.

A Wonderful Weekend

Posted on October 6, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

The photograph from yesterday morning is very similar to what it looked like today. The big difference is that it was cool enough to keep us inside for our coffee. Our “warm” weather is supposed to be gone this week and it’s all good for me and it’s a bit chilly today if I’m honest. I’ve turned on the heat this afternoon. The warmest spot in the house was in the laundry room where the boiler lives and my toes are icy!

I’ve been on a knitting mission this weekend. I spent the morning yesterday catching up on work stuff (entering new emails into our email list for the newsletter, writing the newsletter) and cleaning up my studio and getting the vacuum in to suck up the dog hair. I never knew how much a lab could shed and he doesn’t spend too much time in my studio. BUT I got all caught up which allowed me to take off and “play” (knit) at my friend Janna’s house all afternoon. We spent four hours knitting and I was working on my Christmas stocking because I’m really trying to get it finished up and sent off.

I started at the end of the Santa section with the blue stripe done so I was beginning the tree section and my goal was to get that done. I did it! The most frustrating part was way down near the end, on the last couple of rows, I had to add new yarn. Lots of new yarn.

The whole idea about intarsia knitting is that you have lots of separate lengths of yarn; one length for each color section. So, in the case of the bottom of the Santa section, you have a piece of green, and then piece of red, green, red and another green … so, five long strands of yarn dangling. Most people put them on bobbins to organize the tangle but I find they get even more tangled that way. With long strands I can just pull them through the mess and clean it up a bit.

One of the things I don’t love about intarsia is that the ends … all one bazillion of them … need to be woven in one by one. It’s a test of any knitter’s patience. But this morning I got all the weaving of ends done and started to get the decorations done before I join the stitches in the round to work the heel flap and heel turn and then the gusset and the foot.

The Santas are first to get their embellishment: a few whiskers and a pompom for his cap. Eyes and a nose are duplicate stitched on. He looks pretty cute.

Trees next! I had to go hunting in my sewing table but I found my sequins stash and Christmas green thread and a needle and a couple of stitches on each sequin times three trees and they’re done, too. There’s something so sweet about sequins!

I’ve knitted and turned my heel in white and I’ve picked up the gusset stitches in green and am decreasing the gusset. Once I’m back to the original stitch count, it’ll be a breeze down to the toe. Stitch a bell on the toe, seam up the back and duplicate stitch on a name and I can wet block the stocking and then send it off to its new home. I haven’t worried about this getting done but I knew it wasn’t going to be good vacation knitting so … I’ve worked on a few other projects in the meantime.

Cloud Drift by Gudrun Johnston in Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift

I’ve finished my Cloud Drift, a store sample, designed by Gudrun Johnston in Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift (100% Shetland wool). The retail cost of the supplies for the cowl is about $65 and I will be making another one of these some day soon. I loved knitting it! It’s softened by the mohair held with the main color and it gets softer, too, as it’s worked. American’s tend to like the superwash wools that are softer next to the skin but I am really leaning to non-superwash wools because they’re better for the planet and they knit up so beautifully! I had a lot of yarn left over from the project and think I will make a pair of fingerless mittens or something with it. Next time I knit the cowl, I’ll likely add another repeat on each side. (You can see how much I had left over on my Ravelry project page.)

I’ve made great progress on my pink Lane’s Island pullover by Lori Versaci. I’m knitting it in Berroco Remix Light which is the same fiber I made my first one in. I have chosen to make the second size so it won’t be quite as boxy as the first one and I hope I like it as much. As of last night I’ve reached the place where I bound off the underarm stitches. I’ll finish the front, knit the sleeves (two at a time) and put it all together so I can wear it. I did realize that I was supposed to do something on the front to knit the pockets which I haven’t done. I’ll be making pockets another way this time. It’s fine. No, really, it’s fine.

There are still several projects that I want to get finished before Christmas – a hat for my son’s fiancee (it’s started and I’m waiting for her to measure her head) and then a sweater or two for my granddaughter; a French Macaroon and a Christmas sweater at the least. Winter is coming … even to New York City!

A busy week ahead! One of my friends needs some help getting to doctor’s appointments, I have my first board meeting as the chair of the board, and I’m working Thursday, teaching Friday and working again on Saturday. I’m going to sign off here and get back to my stocking! I hope I can get the knitting done today and wrap it all up so I can block it by Wednesday … and mail it off as soon as it’s dry!

Gone knitting.

Project Bag Check – WIPs

Posted on September 21, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

Another busy week almost behind us and tomorrow is the official start of fall. How can time pass so quickly? We have been home from the beach and our family vacation for four days and yet it feels like weeks. We’ve had a super full moon and a bunch of gray days. Work, knitting classes taught, the dock is out (it disappeared before we came home) and the generator’s been serviced (also while we were away) and we’re slowly getting ready for winter.

I’ve just done a project bag check and wanted to update you on what I’m working on.

My pink Lane’s Island pullover sweater is almost half-way done. I’ve got another inch or two to finish the back. I love the color pink and I’m delighted at not having to think too much as I knit this. My brain is rather full of everything else on my plate and stockinette stitches are just what the doctor ordered.

I’m also working on a Musselburgh hat for my son for Christmas. He chose the colors and the yarn is worsted weight Moonshine by Juniper Moon Farm. This pattern is so adaptable and I love knitting it! I have made one before in a single color in Berroco Vintage sock in black. This worsted version is great and quick to knit up. I have one more for my future daughter-in-love in green and red in a fingering weight Juniper Moon Farm Herriot Fine so that will be on smaller needles and with finer yarn and will take a bit longer but it’s good for watching television at night knitting.

Two more projects … a Christmas stocking for my college roommate’s newest grandson and a sample for the store of a soon-to-be-released cowl pattern. I copied the stocking pattern from my roommate’s childhood one because everyone in her family has one. I’ve made three (?) of them already and apparently the last one was bigger than the others. We’re going to try to make this one the same size as all the others – a little bit smaller – so I have downsized my needles to a US6 and that seems to be fixing the “problem”. I also realized in this process that I likely knit my own stocking with a US7 needle and would probably have loved it more if I’d used a US6, too. Once again knitting is humbling me. I hope to have the stocking finished and in the mail by mid-October which means that I have to get moving on the worsted weight Musselburgh which I should be able to finish today. I have one other project with a date attached to it and that’s a new sample for the shop. Our Berroco rep shared the pre-release pattern with me in hopes that we can move some of the Jamieson’s yarn that we bought. I’ll be knitting Gudrun Johnston’s new cowl called Cloud Drift. It’s a mosaic knit cowl knit with the Jamieson of Shetland Spindrift in four colors and a hank of lace weight mohair. I’ll be using a skein of Berroco Aerial. I hope it won’t take too long to knit. I’d love to have it in the shop ahead of the October 1 pattern release date and maybe will even lead a KAL.

I was given a ball of Fjallalopi at work and I have a pattern (also from our Berroco rep) for Writer’s Warmers fingerless mitts. The Fjallalopi is a new yarn and one that my boss chose not to order this time around. It’s a sport weight yarn and in a pretty bright pink color. A good color for winter in Maine. I’ll get to these after my Christmas knitting is finished. I also bought a bag full of Scheepjie’s yarn for making some stuffed animals. They’re on my list for post-Christmas knitting. There’s never enough time to get all the knitting I want to do done. I know what I’ll be doing if and when I ever fully retire!

I’m really enjoying my day at home today. Hubby just got home from a trip to the dump and maybe we’ll head out to the garden center for a pumpkin and some mums. It’s really feeling like fall today. I’ve closed most of the windows on the second floor of our house where my studio is and I’ve got two long sleeved shirts on today. I’d just like to see the sun – not sure that’ll happen today.

Gone knitting.

Lane’s Island Pullover – FO

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

Today’s my daughter’s birthday and the day started off with my calling her at 6:30am by mistake. There was a notification from my phone when I opened my eyes and when I tapped on it to see what it was, it called her. I thought I hung up before it rang but I didn’t IRL. Later, when they were having their coffee I got a text: “did you call me at 6:30 because you were on a plane that was crashing and you only had a few minutes to say goodbye?” Ha! ha! I was lucky to have a good reason that I called at at ungodly hour on her birthday. Her grandmother used to call every year really early … it was not a favorite family thing when the kids wanted to sleep in the morning.

All of that is just the long way around saying that I’ve finished my Lane’s Island Pullover by Lori Versaci. AND … I love it! In fact, I wore it today because it was a bit cool this morning when I was heading off to work. I love the weight of Remix Light and I love the style of the sweater. Today’s outfit wasn’t much different from the day I modeled it for my husband and he took this photo …

I’ll be excited to wear this by itself in the fall and with a tee or blouse in the winter. It will go with everything because it’s just a light neutral. Remix is a recycled yarn with nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and linen in it so it’s quite soft and a little bit nubby. I like the texture, frankly. And I adore the pockets. I also love the fit – boxy and cropped a little but not too much. I didn’t even bother to block it, I just put it on. I’ll wash it after I wear it a couple of times. haha.

I’ve just finished reading a couple of wonderful books, too. I read Hello, Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. This was my first summer book club book. I really enjoyed it. The book is about the Padavano family. Charlie, the father, may be a bit of a drunk but he greets his three daughters with, “hello, beautiful” whenever they enter the room and he loved them each for who they were. He was the glue that kept the family together. The book is set in 1960 and begins on the day that William Waters is born and there’s a bit of a twist. I’ve never read an Oprah’s book club book to the end before this one. I’d recommend it for sure … and it’s on Barack Obama’s book list!

I also read Chemistry Lessons by Bonnie Garmus and I may have liked this one even more. Quirky characters make this a fun read … who doesn’t like a book with a dog named Six-Thirty! Elizabeth Zott is a scientist in the 1960s where life isn’t quite equal and certainly not in science. I’m not giving any more information but my husband thinks he will read this book which is very unusual.

Lastly, I finished being the president of our lake association. On Saturday it was the Annual Meeting and the board and members voted in a new president. I will be handing over the reigns when I “train” her on Tuesday. I will be so happy to reclaim 20 hours or so a week that was spent (well spent but spent) on lake stuff and do some more sewing. I’ve just jumped head first into Creativebug’s website and already want to make a couple of quilts and some clothing. I need to find some simple fabric to make 6×8 inch squares (twenty of them) for a “Love Note” quilt. More about that will be forthcoming. Suffice it to say that it will be a love note to my husband and me in honor of finding each other again after several decades.

Tomorrow is my Saturday to work and I’ve got a school board working retreat on Monday and lake association president training on Tuesday but I have Wednesday off before starting my work week over again on Thursday … who said life wouldn’t be busy when you got older?

Gone knitting.

Lane’s Island Pullover (part 1)

Posted on June 27, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

This weekend we went to Marblehead, MA for a couple of days to visit with our family there. It was wonderful … and we even saw the sun! We hadn’t packed well for sun, though, since the weather report said it was supposed to be rainy and in the low-to-mid-60s. But we survived and were revived by our visit with my brothers, sisters-in-love, nephews and niece, great-nephew and friends there, too.

I’m working my way up the front of my Lane’s Island Pullover by Lori Versaci of VersaciKnits. I took some artistic license with this pullover because I loved the style and shape but I don’t love me in stripes. So, I eliminated them. I’m knitting the sweater in the “white” (more natural) colorway of Berroco Remix Light. As a result of my choice to nix the stripes, it’s a rather “boring” knit because once past the ribbing, it’s all stockinette stitch to the armhole decreases. And then more stockinette to the shoulder decreases. Which, frankly, in my harried and hassled state of mind, has been a blessing.

The part that I find so incredible in this pattern (so far) is the way Lori added the pockets into the front of the pullover. It is a miraculous design, brilliant! I’m not going to share how she does it because you should buy the pattern to learn it yourself, but suffice it to say that I am so in awe of it that it’s kicking my butt into high knitting gear. I can’t wait to finish the front and start the pockets.

The stitch holder, by the way, if you’ve not seen them yet are The Knitting Barber cords. They’re silicone “straws” that your needle tip fits into snugly and you pull the stitches off the needle and onto the cord. A brilliant knitting tool.

I’ve been working exclusively on this sweater so that I can get it finished by the time I go to “sewing camp” in early July. I hope I make my deadline and if not, so be it, it’ll go to camp with me for when I need a brain break from sewing. I really do want to finish those pockets and see how they’re done.

It’s another rainy day here on the lake. I’ve had two lake association meetings already this morning. Catching up from being away. I’m watching a pair of loons preening and stretching their wings from my office window. A spectacular view when one has to be working!

Gone knitting.

Knitting on the Porch – Perfect Saturday

Posted on May 13, 2023 by Queen Bee Knits

We captured the first photograph of a hummingbird this morning. It’s become quite the thrill to watch the map tracking the hummers back to Maine from their winter home way down south. We’ve had the feeders up for about two weeks but until this week we hadn’t seen any birds. That all changed after I had cleaned and refilled the feeders this week. They’re back!

We spent the morning (and into the afternoon when the breeze kicked up) on the porch this morning. The sun was shining and the hummingbirds and loons were active finding food. I brought my knitting onto the porch and was working on my Romi MKAL “Falderal” shawl. I had gotten quite a bit of clue three finished when I realized that I hadn’t slipped a pair of stitches. Yesterday afternoon I frogged back 4 or 5 rows (at over 300 stitches per row) to where I had missed the slipped stitches, corrected my mistake and then worked on. This morning I finished clue 3.

Spoiler Alert! If you don’t want to see what it looks like at this point, don’t read any further.

I’ve chosen two colors of Practically Perfect sock by Emma’s Yarn for my shawl. I wanted to knit something in a purple because, honestly, I don’t have anything purple. The contrasting color is a gray that I’ve had in my stash for quite some time. The colorways are called February ’23 (purple) and After Dark (gray). It’s pretty contrast-y, perhaps more contrast-y than I had planned but I think I will like it well enough. I’m certainly not going to frog the whole project at this point.

You can see that the shawl will be soooo much more beautiful when it’s blocked and you can really see the lace between the “lattice” pattern sections. Clue 4 will be more lace but in the gray colorway. So far, this has been fun to knit and not difficult to follow. I’ll be taking this to Canada with me for Knit City Montreal next weekend and I think I will be able to keep up with the pattern when I’ve got lots of distraction. I’ll have another, more simple, mindless project, too just in case.

I bought yarn this week to make Anker’s Summer Shirt. I like wearing my hand knits and I like wearing Berroco Remix Light so … I bought the Remix Light in the “white” colorway and I’ll work on that next. I also like Tanis’ Rock it Tee and Yumi by Isabell Kraemer. There are several I could make with this yarn (or others that I can buy at my LYS.) Anyway, the plan is to make a tee next. I would like to finish my Three Seasons Cardigan before that but it seems silly as we are in warm weather now and I have plenty of time before I’ll be wearing the cardigan. So, tee is up next.

I have a pair of socks on the needles, too, of course. These are for my daughter, Libet. She chose the yarn from my stash when she was last here. I had to make a couple of pairs before I got to hers for gifts but I’m at it now. They should be ready for her birthday in July. Again, the yarn was stashed so I have no recollection of where it’s from but it’s really pretty and “dark” which is what she wanted.

I’m using Yankee Knitter’s sock pattern for the family #29 which is my favorite. I’ve knit so many socks from this pattern that I nearly have it memorized which makes it even better. I find I have to check on the number of stitches to pick up on the gusset and that’s about it when I’m knitting the fingering weight which is what I do most often.

We’ve been enjoying watching the birds at the bird feeder. We have a regular (pair?) of Pileated Woodpeckers and the regular host of Chickadees, Nuthatches, Titmice, Goldfinches, Purple Finches and, of course, all the woodpeckers from the Downy to the Pileated (and all the sizes in between.) We have a trio of Crows … they may be Ravens, it’s difficult to tell the difference IMHO. Anyway, they love to hang out ON the feeder and eat all of the suet. I was outside this morning to frighten them off and I happened to snap a few pictures of new blooms from our gardens …

The spring bulbs are beginning to fade and the early perennials are coming in: L to R we have peonies budding, creeping phlox in full bloom and my favorite bleeding heart. There are a TON of dandy lions all over the yard this year. I wasn’t going to do anything with them but when I’m out there it’s really tempting to pick those babies and start drying them out and soak them in oil to make something from weeds! Last year I made a salve and we’re still using it. It’s supposed to be good for inflammation, if I remember correctly. It is fun to collect plants from the yard that most consider to be worthless weeds (the birds and bugs love them this time of year!)

I felt well enough, finally, to do a little bit of cleaning up the garden beds. There’s a lot of work left to do. We have hired a young man (now I sound like an old lady!) to help with this this year because my hubby can’t lug all the bags or wheelbarrows full of mulch this year. They’ll help me edge all the beds again and we’ll be in good shape. I’ve been watching the hydrangeas as they leaf out … and the ones in front (or is the front really the back?) of the house, the side away from the lake, has hydrangeas that bloom on the old wood. I now know that I can cut these guys back in early spring because they’re HUGE!!!

I need to walk around to Helen’s garden in the back (or the front depending on your perspective) between our bedroom and the lake to see what they’re doing. We also have some poison ivy in this bed and a very obnoxious vine-y plant that I can’t seem to eradicate. We’ve used some natural vinegar solution in years past and I hope it will work this year. I don’t think we’ve really attacked this bed recently. It’s time!

This afternoon I’m heading to a new-to-me nursery with a friend. I’m told Fieldstone Gardens is gorgeous and it’s been on my list for awhile. I’m excited to see it. My eyes are open for another peony or two and perhaps a grass for in front of the porch … is that the back yard or the front? Ha! Ha!

Gone knitting.

Hope Cardigan

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

I’ve finished another item after it’s been in “time out” for a long time! This is my Hope Cardigan. The pattern is from Making Magazine / Dots.

The pattern called for (and I used) Berroco Remix Light which is a mix of recycled fibers but feels like cotton/linen and has some man-made fibers including acrylic. It’s got a tweedy texture which I like and the design is very interesting.

The sweater is knitted beginning with the cuff and the sleeve (a good reason not to swatch because it’s a small area and small enough that if your gauge is off you can start again without much fanfare!) Stitches are cast on at the underarm and the body is knitted to the middle. The second half is knitted the same way and you join the pieces with a 3-needle bind off at the center back. I like the simplicity of this sweater and I like the little eyelets along the sleeves and the neckline.

I am looking forward to wearing this with a tank top and white pants in the summer!

More details can be found on my Ravelry page. (I’m lindar on Ravelry.)

Gone knitting!

Testing … testing …

Posted on January 29, 2021 by Queen Bee Knits

I’ve been accepted as a test knitter by Gudrun Johnston for a new pattern that she’s designed. I”m excited about testing for her and I love this new design and think it’s going to be very wearable.

First order of business is to find an Aran weight yarn that’ll knit to 4.5 stitches to an inch. I have two yarns in my stash that were gifted to me by a friend when her mother stopped knitting because of dementia. I thought, since both are rather rustic wool tweeds, that they might work if I have enough.

I did a quick (flat) swatch and, after blocking, there was one that was 4.5 stitches per inch exactly on a US 8. The other (which is the one that I’d really like to use) is more like 4 stitches to the inch and, frankly, I don’t love the openness of the fabric at this gauge. BUT when I returned to read the pattern, the gauge should be worked in the round. So, back to the drawing board I will go. I’m hoping that the red one will work when swatched in the round (purling back causes the fabric to be a bit looser since purl stitches are typically a little bit looser than the knit stitches.)

I’ll return to the drawing board with circular needles and we’ll see what gauge looks like. Cross your fingers!

Meanwhile, I’m knitting a sample for the Yardgoods Center in a new yarn that came in. Noro Okunoshima is a worsted weight yarn that’s a combination of silk, wool, angora and mohair. It’s really soft but a bit of a loose twist and thus has some “thick and thin” spots. The colors, as with all Noro yarns, are gorgeous. I’m knitting #15 Cable Hat from the Noro Magazine (Fall/Winter 2020). It’s a sweet hat pattern but I still stand by the fact that cabled patterns show up much better in light, plain colored yarn. There, I said it!

I’m nearly finished with my Hope Cardigan. I have (finally) picked up the stitches around the front and neck of the sweater and will only have to knit the button band and block it. I’ll be happy to have this one off the needles and I look forward to wearing it. I love the color and I really like Remix Light.

There’s my Friday update! We are due to get some wicked cold weather here this weekend. The ice fishermen have been out all week and they were even out this morning with the wind blowing and ten degree weather. I think they’re crazy but they must love it. Tonight temps are due to drop into the single digits. Woo! Hoo! Winter is here! I’m so grateful for our warm, toasty home and lots of wool to keep me warm!

Gone Knitting!

Just Keep Knitting …

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Queen Bee Knits

The world is getting uglier and I am feeling more tense and anxious. I dislike conflict and I really despise lies and there is a lot of conflict and a lot of lies flying around in America in advance of the November election.

If I ruled the world, PACs wouldn’t be allowed to advertise. They’re the most hateful and dishonest advertisers. Candidates would only be allowed to advertise about themselves; what they believe, what they stand for, what they will do if elected. If I ruled the world, Facebook posts that call people names would be immediately deleted, even if it was calling someone a republican or a democrat, a liberal or a conservative or any of the mangled iterations of those words we’ve come to accept as normal.

To deal with my anxiety, I’ve been following some sage advice:

Knit on with confidence and hope, through all crises.
Elizabeth Zimmerman

This is my newest grand-dog, Gus. My son adopted Gus and asked me to knit him a sweater because … well, just because I can. I found a sweater specifically for Pugs on Ravelry, Pug Dog Sweater. This seemed a really good place to begin. I measured Gus and knit the XXXS, Sammie Size in a lovely shade of green. Yarn is Berroco Vintage, a worsted weight acrylic and wool blend that is machine washable and dryable. The pattern is a simple and quick knit, especially when you’re knitting a teeny tiny sweater for a little puppy. (Have a gander at the Pug photos in sweaters on the pattern page and you’ll notice that our Gus isn’t a typically shaped Pug.) The green sweater fit around him perfectly IF he isn’t wearing his harness but it’s a couple of inches too short.

So, back to the drawing board I went and knit him a blue version, also in Vintage, in the next size up, XXS. It’s in the mail as we speak and I am eager to see how this one fits. Pictures will follow.

I’ve also been knitting socks like crazy for the 2020 Sock Challenge that we were having at the shop and that I announced to my FB followers. To my delight, some of my FB followers have gotten in on the fun! I’ve just finished my September socks … there are two pairs because I finished the main pair in record time and decided a pair of baby socks in a ball of yarn that I’v had sitting around forever (since before I knew that you needed three balls of this yarn to make an adult pair of socks, perhaps?)

The first pair are in Raggi sock yarn. I love this yarn and I love that it knits up so quickly in an Aran weight. These socks are Urban Rustic Socks by Elizabeth McCarten. This is a new to me (free) pattern that used a seeded rib (which I’d never knitted before) and a new-to-me heel construction. It’s a heel flap and gusset but knitted differently than I’ve ever seen. I love that there is no pattern below the ankle because my feet don’t like patterns on them, apparently. These socks come in two sizes, I made the smaller size. I can’t wait for boot weather now!

The bonus socks this month are a pair of teeny tiny baby socks. I had a ball of Patons Kroy Sock yarn in my stash that I’ve been itching to knit with because I only had the one ball. (I also have a couple of single balls of Regia baby sock yarn to use up.) I used my favorite sock pattern for this one, Yankee Knitter’s Classic Socks #29 by Melinda Goodfellow. If you don’t have this pattern, you need it. NEED it! I did my best without sweating it too much – because I am knitting to be LESS anxious, right? – to match the two socks and they’re pretty close. I love this yarn and they’re really soft for baby. I have more yarn and will knit more little bitty socks as time allows.

My Hope Cardigan is once again on the needles … the first half of the sweater, pictured above, is done and I have gotten most of the way up the second arm. This sweater is knitted from cuff to middle twice and then stitched together (don’t ask me how, I’ve not read that far ahead.) I am not sure what I did for the first sleeve, however, and I’ve reached the end of the written instructions for the second sleeve and it’s about two and a half inches shorter than it needs to be. So … today I’ll be having a closer look in the good daytime light to see what I did on the first sleeve so I can complete the second sleeve and move on. This pattern is only available in Making Magazine #3, Dots. These magazines are a bit pricey but they’re so worth it. I love the variation of crafts that they feature in the books and I have made quite a few projects out of them. I’m knitting my Hope Cardigan in the suggested yarn, Berroco Remix Light. I love the drape and weight of this yarn. I also love the feel of it against my skin.

I made a Khamaseen in 2017 with this yarn and I love wearing it alone and with a shirt under it.

I wore my Humulus sweater for the first time this week and I was so excited about the way it fit! It’s going to be one that I wear a lot this fall and winter. I love the colors that I chose and I love the weight of it. I have loved this sweater since I saw it on the MDK March Mayhem pattern bracket back in 2017 (I think.) I loved the colors that the original sweater was knitted up in (yellow and grey are my colors!) but I wanted something more sedate and I wear a lot of blue so … when we got a shipment of Ella Rae Classic Wool into the shop, on sale no less, I jumped and bought enough for the Humulus. I went back a forth a few times with the contrasting color for the yoke but I’m very happy with the blue that I settled on.

While I’m knocking knits off my list, the list isn’t getting any shorter. My step-daughter has requested an afghan for their new house for Christmas in a denim-y blue. A college friend asked me to knit a family favorite Christmas stocking for her nephew’s new fiancee. And I still have at least six sweaters worth of yarn in my stash. I can tell you that once the Hope cardigan is finished, I’ll be casting on my Dissent Cardigan by Andrea Rangel. I have black as the main color and a cream for the contrasting color. I’ll diverge from the pattern, which is written to knit back and forth, and knit this one with a steek. I much prefer to knit in the round if at all possible. I look forward to wearing it and honoring the Notorious RBG.

Gone knitting!

More details about each of my projects is on my Ravelry Project page. I’m lindar on Ravelry. You can follow me on Instragram @QueenBeeKnits and on FB at Queen Bee Knits by LindaWarner.